SOME people have drinking buddies. I
have writing buddies. We critique each other's work. Actually, I have
drinking buddies also, but I digress. One of my writing buddies recently
handed me a copy of Alice Major's poetry collection The Occupied World.

Major is well known on Edmonton's poetry circuit. She
was the city's first Poet Laureate and is a familiar face at the annual Edmonton Poetry Festival in April. Published in 2006, The Occupied World
is a clear presentation of why Major is so well regarded. Her language
and imagery is at once familiar and other worldly, juxtaposing the local
and familiar with other times and places.

Through her
words, Major begins with the theme of building a city, using the
framework of rituals used in Roman times to sanctify the ground before
occupation of the city could take place. From there, Major explores
occupation in the world, as ourselves, and through life in general.

For
a number of years the term “occupation” (or “occupy”) has had political
connotations, but in this case literally means taking over a space,
being somewhere, or being part of a moment. The world is indeed occupied
in many different ways and it is through examining how and why we
occupy what and where we do, that we gain a new understanding of our
lives and world.

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